The Specter of Konoha
by Excess Frost
Summary: An tangential thought during the academy teaching of the henge gives birth to a new kind of legend. DeepCover!Naruto, Spymaster!Naruto ((Proof of Concept - Read inside for more details))


**A/N: This is one of two ideas of Naruto I've had floating around in my head lately. Tell me what you think of this and if the reception is good I'll fix it up and continue it, if it's poor I'll go to my next idea and leave this up as a challenge instead (to take this idea and run with it).**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and that's okay. I'm okay, even if I don't own Naruto. I will never own Naruto, and I'm okay with that. There's no one I'd rather be...than me.**

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Chapter 01:

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He had realized very quickly that his ability to use the Henge to a degree it was not originally intended to be used. The technique had minimal application in battle, oftentimes, as a momentary distraction by completely turning your appearance into something innocuous, throwing your opponent off to have them lower their guard; the main problem was any real impact caused the technique to reverse, on paper anyways. The main weakness of the technique was that it was using the user's chakra, a fingerprint of its own, to change the fingerprints its user held. And that was what Naruto Uzumaki had decided to get around when he found his Henge naturally held itself far longer than anyone else's.

That wasn't to say he was the best in his class at transformation, far from it in fact. Overall he ranked only third from the bottom as far as skill in the Henge technique was concerned, however his would hold under any outside force, unless he allowed himself to transform back, and it was after this discovery, and subsequent mentioning that it wasn't normal, that Naruto began listening to things he thought might have affected his henge. When the first mentions of Kekkei Genkai cropped up, Naruto immediately tuned them out, after he had done a good deal of research (solely driven by the urge to find a family) he found the Uzumaki Clan (while being as renowned as the Uchiha and Senju clans) lacked any chakra based bloodline, instead theirs was strictly body-based with the occasional anomaly here and there.

However, after listening to Iruka drone on and on about the idea of bloodline techniques, one student asked the million dollar question.

"You said it was genetic, so does that mean chakra is like our blood?"

The answer actually came as a surprise to Naruto, especially in the way it was both explained and mystified by their teacher, something that had ultimately resulted in his current bet that he was winning so far.

"In a way, yes but chakra is more accurately said to be us. We produce our chakra, that much is true, but if yours was any different, you would be someone completely different, and no medical equipment or sensory shinobi would be able to tell the difference. In theory, if you could change your chakra into someone like the Third's, down to the smallest detail, your body would believe itself to be the Third Hokage, and so would everyone around you, at least until you began to behave like you."

That sentence had given birth to a legend that was in its neonatal stages, the initial test run of his theory, given complete green light by the Hokage himself was about to begin.

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Iruka walked into the Hokage's office, having received a summons from one of the leader's guards, something that had him believing his student Naruto was somehow involved. As he entered the door, and the ANBU escort melted into the shadows, neither noticed the set of eyes watching the interaction between Iruka and the elderly man in the robes behind the desk.

As Iruka stood at attention, a slow intake of tobacco, followed by the exhalation of sweet smelling smoke gave the man at the desk the appearance of a soft and kind-natured old man, but the shinobi edict was never so prevalent as with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Iruka…" the time weary voice of the elderly leader began, his teeth clenched around his pipe, a tic Iruka recognized as something that usually preceded bad news, "…I have received the academy's reports on Naruto's tests as well as his performance within the classes."

At this the figure in the shadow's eyes narrowed slightly, no noticeable reaction out of the two occupants of the table indicated exposure as the conversation continued.

"This would normally be something that I would leave to the boy to come to me in time with, but I feel he has been trying to hide something from me. Tell me Iruka, is he as your peers claim, 'an unmotivated troublemaker who seems to have a single-minded desire to disrupt the learning of others', or how about in your assistant's report of him 'being a menace within the classroom, threatening the various clan heirs and even some of the civilian children for childish bickering common in classrooms.' Because from the overwhelming evidence I'm seeing, and despite my immense love for the child…I will have to remove him from the academy and take his dream from his hands."

Iruka's frown had become more and more developed as the man had begun to speak, but now, his entire countenance shifted, from one who was angry and confused to one who was shocked and righteously enraged.

"Lord Hokage, if you take his dream from him what will Naruto do? You know as well as I do that the boy eats, dreams, and sleeps shinobi, he might not understand the theory but he can still somehow put it into practice! I've honestly never seen a shinobi hopeful nearly as resourceful as that boy, and despite all the crap he catches from those around him he still manages to do it all with that same look of joy for everyone else's benefit! I can vouch for him when I say Mizuki's reports were completely fabricated and would be willing to place my headband on the line for that very claim, Naruto may be a troublemaker but he has never once been violent, except during spars and when that's the case it's not only expected but encouraged!"

As the man began to catch his breath, and the realization of who he had just dressed down came full circle to Iruka, he began to pale considerably, at least until he saw a rather familiar gnarled smirk on the wily old man's face.

"Iruka, that is why I appointed you to be Naruto's teacher, you are willing to look past other people's hatred and see the boy for who he is. Now, since we've broached the subject of the boy I think we should let the old man in on it too, ne Iruka-sensei?"

With the last half of the final sentence being said in his student's voice Iruka, as well as several ANBU who had been stationed around the room reacted immediately, Iruka simply staring dumbfounded as his leader seemed to meld back into his favorite (though that fact would stay hidden for fear of cries of favoritism) student and his leader materializing behind the boy to prevent the ANBU who had been stationed from succeeding in their attack. His reaction was prolonged when he saw the Hokage sigh lightly before handing Naruto a headband.

"Thank you Iruka, you've helped Naruto-kun prove something he had been telling me the last month or so, regardless of my beliefs that his performance was impossible. As such, with you as my witness I'm promoting him to genin and immediately apprenticing him to our resident spymaster. I appreciate your concern for the boy as well as your unwitting cooperation in this matter Iruka. Now, DOG!"

With the last word bellowed out in what seemed a furious bark a dog-masked ANBU materialized, already kneeled before the third Hokage.

"Would you care to explain to me exactly how this newly promoted Genin managed to assume the position of Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato for the past eight hours without a single person realizing something was amiss?"

Dog's eyes widened behind his mask at the realization for how long he had been following the orders of an imposter, his silence prompting Sarutobi to continue.

"Allow me to explain then Dog, a young boy managed to completely impersonate someone of high value, simply by observation that anyone would have access to if they bothered, and then performed a rudimentary henge technique to circumvent appearance issues. Now tell me, how none of our sensors picked up on this fact?"

Sarutobi's voice had steadily risen as he had explained, having only heard from Naruto that he would henge into him, not the specifics.

"Uh…jiji," the boy's voice nervously broke in, the realization of what could happen if he wasn't quick weighing heavily on him, "that's because I didn't use the henge like it's normally taught. I transformed my chakra to match yours."

That statement brought Sarutobi to a complete halt.

"And how do you know what my chakra feels like Naruto?"

The elderly man's tone told Naruto he was no longer dealing with the kind old man he viewed as a grandfather but with the famed 'Professor' and 'God of Shinobi' from the Shinobi World Wars.

"It's one of the passive abilities the Kyuubi's chakra grants me. I met him in my mindscape a couple months ago after I tried to change my chakra before realizing WHAT I was trying to transform into. As a result the seal catapulted me into my mind as it stopped my chakra from destroying me. As I explained to Kura-Kyuubi what had happened he seemed interested in me. His exact words were, 'I'd very much like to help along the brat who thinks like a real ninja stay that way.' I wasn't sure what to think of it until I could feel everyone's chakra around me."

The third began to rub the bridge of his nose slowly, a sure sign of annoyance at the entire situation.

"Very well, Iruka, Dog. The conversation here will be labeled a B-rank secret, no discussing it until such information can either be diffused before it reaches the wrong ears or completely diluted. As for you Naruto, I expect you to arrive back at this office early in the morning so we can discuss both your apprenticeship and so I can teach you about making deals with the devil."

With a gulp from Naruto and two somber affirmations from the ANBU an Iruka, the Hokage sat in his now empty room, staring off into the distance, his eyes completely unfocused on anything as he recalled the events earlier, the eerie view of himself discussing the boy he viewed as a Grandson, his lips forming words he could see himself saying, only to know that it wasn't him, but rather some twisted specter of a game created by a young boy out to prove himself.

'_Maybe that will work_' the old man thought to himself, '_The Specter of Konoha_'.

As Sarutobi sat back behind his desk he folded his hands in front of him and began chewing lightly on his pipe while smoke continually filtered in and out of his lungs and surrounding air space.

'_This does pose a problem,_' the old war veteran thought to himself, '_he is nearly half a year ahead of his peers and I can't simply announce his graduation, especially given his intended path. Hell it might be easier to convince the boy to say he gave up and simply left. While unheard of given his Jinchuriki status it's not like the clan heads can actually do anything, though Danzo might pose a problem._'

As the old man allowed his thoughts to swirl he lifted his left hand's ring finger up slightly as two shadows leapt down into a kneeling position revealing two guards.

"Gather Elder Danzo, my advisors, the Shinobi clan heads and the representatives of the merchant sector, we're about to have a meeting."

'_Now…all that remains is to watch the pieces fall into place, Naruto will at the very least appreciate the necessity of playing a role._'

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As the various clan heads filed into the room that was already occupied by Danzo, the third Hokage along with his advisors and the merchant heads they began to wonder what could possibly be so important to call them all together.

"Understand something before we begin this meeting in earnest, it isn't often that I call the council together and for good reason. This village is supposed to be autonomous and the separate sectors were to avoid meeting except for budgeting concerns and the like, however a matter of utmost importance is to be brought up at this time and I want to stress that there will be no behaving as children here. This is not a discussion forum, this is simply me telling you how things have gone and it is up to each of you to decide how you will allow your specific section to handle it so long as it falls within the boundaries of my edicts. Is this clear?"

A chorus of affirmatives went from each representative, as they were used to the rather cut and dry dialogue that usually preceded an unscheduled meeting of the council.

"Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune has dropped out of the Shinobi Corps and has applied for and been approved for departure from Konoha. He has been deemed as a rank-E security threat and has therefore been granted free leave of the village with no alteration necessary to his memories by the Yamanaka clan. Due to his incomplete tenure at the Shinobi academy his status was reverted back to civilian when he requested his clearance. As of this, no ANBU will be able to be sent after him and he is granted the typical amnesty of civilians from being entered into the Bingo Book. Are there any questions at this time?"

"Yes, I have one Sarutobi." The voice of his long time rival and dichotomous opposite cut through the stunned silence of the room. "Why would you have released such an important village asset without expecting any of us to attempt to retrieve him?"

At this point Sarutobi smiled slightly, a fact that actually put Danzo in a very uncomfortable position, "The fact that the only person in this room who would is you, and Danzo, do not think your Root ANBU are solely at your command. While I do not command their loyalty, every single one of them is catalogued and plugged with a seal that I can activate at any time to completely disable your group. I have allowed their existence for the same reason you formed them but I will not have you undermine my position as Hokage. You are lucky I need you alive or your form of address would have had you in prison for at least a week."

The severity of the punishment proposed spoke volumes more than the rest of the entire conversation. The Hokage was not their friend nor was he a democratically elected leader, he was a dictator of a military state and to go against him even in word would be very bad for their collective health.

"If there's nothing else than this meeting will be adjourned."

Not even a murmur passed as everyone left the Hokage in the room alone. Once he was sure the remainder of the council had vacated the premises an ANBU was summoned back to his position.

"Did he receive the mission scroll?"

The shadowed agent nodded once in silence before standing and vanishing back into the shadows as Sarutobi's face took on a contemplative look.

'_Jiraiya will be back to pick him up in the morning. That will allow me to get him out of here without much more fuss. The only thing left to do now is wait._'

As thoughts a future not yet formed passed through the elder's mind he produced his pipe and began the rhythmic breathing of the calming smoke.

'_I look forward to seeing what the boy will accomplish._'

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**Closing A/N: And there's the updated version of chapter 1. I'm far happier with this form than the other and I feel I can continue this. Updates will be sporadic due to my work schedule being full up most of the time and my priority is my Fiance first after work, not this piece of fan work. That being said I will try to get an update out at least once a month and I might be able to get some out faster, but please do not rush me.**

**Thanks for Reading!**

**Xcess Frost**


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